Modern ski boots formed of plastic materials have provided, when releasably attached to skis, greatly improved control and performance. Difficulties have, however, been encountered when walking or standing with plastic boots due to the configuration and low friction characteristics of their lowers required for conventional bindings, and further due to the stiffness and required forward lean angle built into the boots. In other words, the specific boot characteristics required for conventional toe and heel ski bindings render the boots unsuitable for safe and comfortable walking or standing.
To provide safer walking characteristics, attachments have been devised to clip on to boot lowers for changing the sole configuration and providing a non-slip walking surface. Such clip on arrangements are bulky to carry, difficult to attach to the boot when at the mountain in cold weather, and hence have not found wide use.